Dog missing since Camp Fire turns up 101 days later

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- A dog missing since the Camp Fire in California was found 101 days later, and is believed to have survived by hunting skunks.

The Ballejos family said the dog, Kingston, jumped out of the back of their pickup truck while they were evacuating from their Paradise home when the Camp Fire started last year.

The family started searching when they returned to their home. They put up flyers and alerted local shelters to be on the lookout for Kingston.

The Ballejos' said they received a call 101 days later saying dog trapper Ben Lepe had secured the canine and taken him to the Friends of Camp Fire Cats rescue group.

"When I found out, [it] just about brought me to tears," Gabriel Ballejos told KXTV. "I'm so proud of him. I can't believe it. He's a true survivor, and it's a testament to the American spirit."

The family said they suspect Kingston survived by hunting skunks, as he showed up reeking of the creatures.

"It's an unbelievable story," Ballejos said. "101 days he went missing he's still here and used his survival skills and he's a true survivor."

Another Paradise resident, Andrea Gaylord, said she feared the worst when her dog, Madison, went missing during evacuation before the Camp Fire. She returned home two months later to find the missing canine waiting for her right outside the house.